2015 Volume 124 Issue 4 Pages 561-574
This study is based on an Internet survey of prospective tourists visiting the Sanriku Geopark, which was conducted to understand their travel habits, impressions of the Sanriku coastal area, general awareness of the Geopark, and motivations for travelling. A principal component analysis (PCA) is also performed using a multivariate analysis technique to examine the characteristics of tourists and images of travel destinations they would want to visit in the future. The results demonstrate low awareness of the Sanriku Geopark, especially in metropolitan areas. The majority of respondents do not have a definitive image of the Geopark. The results also indicate that tourists visiting the Sanriku coast are primarily from neighboring prefectures, such as Miyagi and Aomori, as well as from the Tokyo metropolitan area. This suggests that increasing informational awareness of the Sanriku Geopark in these areas would be effective way for attracting more visitors. Regarding their travel habits, the respondents' answers indicate that they mostly go on two-day family trips in a private vehicle. In the majority of cases, their purpose for travelling is “to feel refreshed” or “to eat delicious food.” Based on these data, a PCA employing variance-covariance matrices reveals that tourists are basically seeking “extraordinary” and “healing” experiences from their travels. The principal component scores from the PCA are used and the average scores of each gender are calculated. A t-test reports no significant difference between genders with regard to seeking an “extraordinary” experience, but it identifies a trend among women of seeking “healing” experiences more actively than men (p < 0.10) at a level of 0.1%. On the other hand, regarding the tourists' impressions of the Sanriku coastal area, the results of the multivariate analysis suggest that prospective visitors tend to perceive the coastal area comprehensively in terms of both “nature and scenery” and “local area and culture” to the same degree as those who have previously visited the place. For the area to be resuscitated as a tourist destination, it is important to construct a regional brand and devise strategies that will lead to the region's rebirth as a top travel destination. This can be achieved by offering higher quality experiences and services without destroying the traditional image of the Sanriku coast.
